National security briefly detained GPOC employee

JUBA – South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) in May arrested for two days a vocal employee of the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) who was accused of incitement against the state.

Gabriel Matut Maliah who was a secretary for employee affairs at the Workers’ Trade Union of Petroleum and Mining GPOC Sub-Office said he was arrested on 19 may for raising issues of unfair treatment against national employees by the companies.

“I was arrested on Wednesday, 19 May 2021 and released on Saturday, 22 May 2021,” he said, adding that all the demands they made in the letter he authored were one month later approved by the government.

“The New Unified Human Resource Policy Manual and the others as mentioned in the email were passed on 18 June 2021, almost One month after my release,” the outspoken GPOC employee said.

Asked how he was treated during the detention, Maliah said: “I was treated very well during the detention by professional security personnel. The environment was clean and only that prison is a prison even if one is detained in her or his house without going outside the compound.”